A Game of Chess
by Yuki Nogawa
Summary: "Life is not a game . . . and you'll learn that one day to your regret."


The funeral is held on a cloudy grey night. The stars flutters then falters, and the moon sits there, oblivious to those below her. A dark wind blows, carrying the smell of blood with it.

The pyre is readied, oil-drenched wood stacked together like a pyramid, and at the top lies a body. Her black hair is clotted with blood and oil, and her clothes are that of a soldier, one of the very best. Her eyes are closed, and her face expressionless.

Nearby, the mourners mourn, a green-eyed boy and a blue-eyed one, with many more here to witness the downfall of a legend.

Lance Corporal Levi steps forward, holding a burning torch. As a leader, he has the honor of lighting the fire. A bitter honor, but he would rather do it than let someone else. He thrusts the torch into the heart of the pyramid, and steps back.

The flames licks and catches. In a few moments, it has grown; it roars, dances, and twists. It covers the body, so that it becomes nothing more than a shadow of what it used to be.

Everyone watches in silence as the fire blazes up, up towards the sky.

...

"Levi. Thank you for coming. Please sit."

His voice was calm, but underneath lay coldness. Commander Erwin sat in a heavy armchair, and in front of him was a table with a board on it.

It was a chess set. It was ivory and stone, wood and metal. The checkered battlefield was lined with lacquered pieces, black and white. Levi raised his eyebrows, but decides not to comment on the unusual way of greeting.

Levi sat, and waited. "Shall we play?"

"We shall. Your move first."

...

Two people met in the moonlight, having stolen away from curious eyes. A girl with hair like black silk, and a man with eyes that shone silver in the darkness. They walked down paths, past swaying trees and motionless giants.

"They're talking about us," the girl said. "Talking, talking. I wish they'd stop." She might have rolled her eyes, but it was hard to tell in the darkness.

"Let them," the man said. "As long as it doesn't affect what we are."

"_What_ we are?" the girl asked. "Not _who?_"

"Do you truly know who you are?" He took her hand. "Because I don't. All I know is that we are humans, fighting for survival in a cruel world."

"Cruel, but beautiful still." She smiled, and leaned forward to touch his face.

"Yes," he agreed. "Very beautiful."

...

"I've heard rumours," Erwin said carefully, negotiating his knights against Levi's squire.

"About?"

"You know what." Erwin lifted his ice-blue eyes, calculating and cold. "You and her."

Levi met his gaze, and they held it for a while. He refused to be cowed. _Who are you to say? _he thought.

Finally he broke the silence. "Your move."

Erwin smiled, and his pawn slid across the smooth surface, into the heart of Levi's army.

Levi kept his voice calm and professional like his commander's, and said, "So this is why you called me into your office? So that we could play a stupid game, and so that you could judge me about my relationships?"

"Don't be angry, Levi—"

"Haven't you ever loved somebody?"

"Of course I have."

". . . What happened?"

Erwin pressed his lips together, and with a tight smile, he replied, "She died. Many soldiers do, and yet they still think themselves invincible, just because they're good at fighting Titans." His voice made it clear which soldiers he was talking about.

Levi shrugged. "Everyone has to take a risk sometimes."

"But _you two_? She recklessly tries to protect her brother, and almost got killed once because of that. You love to throw yourself into danger too, no, no, don't deny it, you do. Ever since Isabel and Farlan died, you've been like that."

"Check. You're in danger."

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Of course I did. I just choose not to listen to it."

Erwin, distracted by the chess, played on silently for a few rounds. Then he said, "See this pawn of yours? If you'd taken it to the field, you could have gotten my castle."

"I don't like killing off my soldiers."

"It's a pawn, Levi." His face was somber as he shook his head. "You need to learn. You need to sacrifice sometimes."

...

Eren Jaeger and his blond friend are shouting at each other, Eren screaming obscenities and Armin trying to calm him down. Levi ignores those words, terrible words, vows of vengeance and promises of death. He has heard them too many times already, and he is sick of it.

The body lies burnt and charred, but not completely gone yet, though the fire is starting to die. The heat and smoke sting his eyes, and he keeps watching.

The clouds are gathering, rumbling with the distant thunder. Everyone is starting to turn their backs, to go home, to go to bed and dream.

But Levi stands there, and watches the wings of freedom, burning, burning.

...

The two sat on a bench near the stables, watching the stars blink all night.

"You know, it's a very bad idea," she said.

"What is?"

"Us," she said. "It's a dangerous place we live in, Levi, and this just puts us in more danger. The future is too bleak."

"I know that," Levi said angrily. "Why do you think I always stay away from other people?"

"Funny," she said. "That's why I stay alone, too."

There was a lengthy pause. Then,

"Promise me, Levi. That you won't die."

He snorted. "Life's too uncertain for promises like that. I will promise you, though," he leaned forward, "that I will protect you, and—"

"And in return, I'll protect _you_." She smiled, and they kissed.

It turned out to be their last.

...

Levi was in a bad situation. His squires and one knight were all gone, along with half of his pawns. Erwin, on the other hand, had only lost a knight, a rook, and a few pawns. Having no other choice, he reached for the most powerful player on his side.

"Ah," Erwin exhaled. "Your queen has arrived."

"Yes," Levi said, secretly gloating as he took another black knight. "It's a risk, I agree, but don't you think it makes the game so much more interesting?"

Erwin raised his eyebrows and reached for _his _ queen. Theirs was now not a battle of wooden toys, but a battle of words too, hidden in ordinary conversation.

And such a battle it was. They spoke back and forth, each offering their own opinions, veiling it with innuendoes; while down on the chessboard, soldiers fought and lost and died.

Finally, Levi moved his queen to take a castle, and paid for it dearly.

"Your queen has been taken," Erwin said. Levi kept his face blank, and replied,

"I have others."

They played on silently for a while longer, until Erwin's troops were slain, and his king fled until he could flee no more. Levi smiled inwardly as his remaining soldiers closed in.

As the game neared its end, Erwin finally spoke up. His eyes were full of worry and reluctance as he said, "Listen to me, Levi." He paused. "It's not a game anymore."

"What, chess?"

"No. Life is not a game, and you can't play with it like you have a second chance. You don't, and you'll learn that one day to your regret. What's dead is dead."

"She's not dead," he said in a cold rage.

"No, but she will be, one day. And all you're doing is putting yourself in the way, getting hurt—"

Levi slammed his castle down next to the king. "Life is not a game, you say. Very well. Then I don't have to play by its rules. Checkmate."

He stood up and left.

...

Mikasa shot her hooks into a tree and swung herself upright.

"Run, Eren!" she screamed. "Go, go, _go!_" Sliding out her blades, she noticed another figure swooping by, and as it landed lightly next to her, she recognized Levi. "Shall we attack?"

Levi nodded. "I suppose we must. Same plan as before: you distract, and I'll aim for his neck?"

"Alright then." She turned around, and as she did, the side of her blade hit her gas cannister, making a hollow ringing noise. She frowned. _It'll hold_, she thought. _It has to hold._

Levi had noticed as well. "Damn it, we don't have spare cans." He glared at the Titan who was coming towards them at full speed, then sighed. "Stay behind, Ackerman. That's an order."

"No. You won't be able to get it by yourself."

He turned his glare on her. "No, seriously, I won't have time to save you if you suddenly run out of gas." He looked at her almost reluctantly then, and said, "You promised to be safe, remember?"

"No, I promised to protect you. And vice versa—_watch out!_"

She propelled her way up the Armoured Titan's arm, noting the way her hooks bounced off its armour. Huge and unstoppable, it continued chasing after Eren, ignoring the two little humans at its feet.

Somewhere she could hear Levi cursing, but she paid no attention to it, and readied her blades. Sprinting up the Armoured Titan's arm, she shot her hooks into its neck, preparing to go in for the kill.

Leaping into the air, she gave a yell of fury, and as the tip of her blade touched its nape—

Suddenly she was flying, her hooks detached, as the Titan swung himself around, quick as lightning. She swore savagely, and righted herself to counterattack.

Her gas cannister went _phut_.

"No," she whispered.

The shadow of a hand loomed over her, but even as it closed in, she kept her eyes open. Her gaze went to a figure shooting towards her, his face a mask of rage, but then it was too late, too late.

She closed her eyes.

_..._

_Crash._ The storm above him roars and thunders, and flicks of light dart through. The pyre is all but abandoned now, the fire gone out completely, the body of Mikasa Ackerman nothing but a charred mess.

A lone man stands, droplets hitting his face. _Let the rain weep for her,_ he thinks, _and let the skies tremble. _The way he is standing, anyone would think that the whole world could be falling down around him, and he would not budge.

He sighs, a small sigh, but full of feeling, and finally, finally turns around. It is time to go now, and he says a last farewell, and whispers an apology.

As he walks away, dawn breaks in the east.


End file.
